Nation Ford’s Mia Clyburn and Kennedy Martin block a shot from Catawba Ridge during their match Thursday.

Former NFL coach Dennis Green said it best, “They are who we thought they were.”

For the Catawba Ridge volleyball team, that seems to be the issue when they play at Nation Ford. The Falcons, with a rich volleyball history which includes three state championships, has that mental edge factor when they play the Copperheads.

Nation Ford swept Catawba Ridge 3-0 (25-16, 25-7 and 25-17) Thursday night as they improved to 5-3 overall on the season. The Copperheads dropped to 5-3 overall as well with the loss.

“When we play at Nation Ford, we see what Nation Ford has done,” said Catawba Ridge head coach Alicia Lisee. “Nation Ford is a good program. They are who we thought they were. That first set is where things took a turn for us.”

In the first set, both teams traded points in the early going, but Nation Ford pulled ahead slightly at 15-12. The Copperheads pulled within one at 17-16, but then the Falcons rattled off four consecutive points forcing Catawba Ridge into a time out.

Lisee said that her team isn’t where Nation Ford is yet, but she has a good team this year and one day they will be there.

“Our team is solid,” she said. “The chemistry is great. It will come.”

Nation Ford head coach Craig Brown said the Copperheads were a scrappy bunch to handle.

“They are tough,” Brown said. “We passed the ball and served well. I thought we came out a little flat. We put it together in the second set.”

The second set for the Falcons was a dominate one as they started 4-1 and then had Catawba Ridge at 11-4 before a Copperheads time out. After the time out, Nation Ford scored six consecutive points to extend their lead before closing it out.

The third set was a lot closer between the two teams. Catawba Ridge scored first and eventually Nation Ford would tie it at 4-4. The Falcons then started to pull away scoring four of the next six points before going up 11-8 and then pulling away at 22-16 to get the sweep.

Nation Ford next plays at Hillcrest in a tri-match Aug. 30. Catawba Ridge plays at home next against Weddington Aug. 30.

Golf

The Catawba Ridge girls golf team swept both Fort Mill and Northwestern at Waterford Golf Club Thursday. The Copperheads shot a 163 as a team and was led by a 37 from Eileen Zeoli and a 39 from Katherine Mann. Kate Gilmer shot a 43 and Reagan Lynch finished with a 44 for Catawba Ridge.

Fort Mill shot a 194 as a team and was led by Mackenzie Finn with a 44. Cayla Cappuzzo shot a 48 and Ava Starosky finished with a 50. Sam Benton rounded out the scoring with a 52.

Northwestern shot a 216 as a team.

Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep